independent_pokebattling_federationfandomcom-20200214-history
World Cup
The World Cup is the highest level of international pokébattling, contested between national teams from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola and Galar. Tournament rules are greatly relaxed compared to other pokébattling competitions, allow legendary and mythical Pokémon as well as ultra beasts to compete, in addition to mega evolution. The tournament has been hosted every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1990, with hosting rights rotating between nations. The current champion is Kalos, which defeated Sinnoh in the 2018 final for the second tournament running. The tournament has been won by every competing nation with the exceptions of Alola and Galar, the latter of which has only recently begun competing on the international stage. Kalos have won the tournament four times, which is more than any other nation. They have won the last two editions of the competition, defeating Sinnoh in the final on both occasions. History The world's first international match took place in 1965, an exhibition match between Kanto and Johto, which resulted in a 3-1 win for Johto. This took place as a 3 vs 3 match and was hosted by Johto's Ecruteak City. The two nations went on to play each other on a yearly basis for almost two decades before other nations began to show an interest in international matches. In 1986, Hoenn and Sinnoh sent teams to Kanto for a tournament, which was won by Kanto, whose years of experience won out. This laid the foundations for the World Cup and the four nations spent the next four years planning the 1990 World Cup, inviting Unova, Kalos and Unova to compete. Kalos were surprise finalists, losing 6-4 in the final to host nation and favourites, Kanto. These tournaments were played as knock out competitions, with Kanto and Johto receiving byes to the semi-finals. In 1998 the tournament format was changed with a seven team round robin format preferred and the scale of the tournament greatly increased. The top two teams after this round robin stage proceeded to the final. The 2002 tournament was notable for the absence of Johto, which was embroiled in civil war at the time. In 2015, Galar was admitted to the international pokébattling scene, although they were not permitted to host a tournament until the end of the next full cycle. Their first tournament as hosts is scheduled for 2030. Since 2016, tournaments have functioned with two groups of four nations each. The top two from each group proceed to the semi-final stage. Since Galar's admission several other nations have stated their intention to eventually compete at the World Cup. These include Orre, Almia, Oblivia, the Sevii Islands, the Orange Islands and the Socialist Cherrygrove Utopia. Rules Banned Pokémon Mega Rayquaza is banned Banned moves Baton Pass is banned Sleep Clause Only one Pokémon on each team may be intentionally put to sleep at any given time. If a Pokémon puts itself to sleep, ie. through the use of Rest, the opposing team may put another of its team members to sleep. Evasion Clause Double Team and Minimise are banned. Results Category:Competition